


look at the stars, look how they shine for you

by mels



Series: bingo fest [1]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Fluff, M/M, Plantboy!Phil, Spaceboy!Dan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-26 00:17:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16208687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mels/pseuds/mels
Summary: Dan hates Earth, yet that’s where he’s sent. Phil loves Earth, yet he’s not happy.Until their worlds collide and creates something rather magical.





	look at the stars, look how they shine for you

**Author's Note:**

> written for the ‘spaceboy’ square on my [phandomficfests](https://phandomficfests.tumblr.com/) bingo fest card!
> 
> a huge, huge thank you to [sari](http://phastelpink.tumblr.com/) for always being so encouraging and helpful, for listening to me complaining and for brainstorming ideas with me - and for looking this over for me once it was done :’)

Being sent to Earth, out of all places, wasn’t part of Dan’s plan. He could’ve gone to any other exciting planet in the whole universe, yet they sent him to Earth. Sure, it looks blue and green and nice from his home planet, but it also looks lame. He had wished for any other place, told his leaders he’d explore just about anything else, except Earth. They knew, yet they sent him _here_.

 

Dan really doesn’t understand why he’s here, when they know he’s not gonna do a good job considering he hates the place. But he’s gonna try, as he always does, to do the best job he can - collect data and things to examine once he comes back. He has no idea what he’s picking up, they look like what they would call “dessert” back home. Having done his research very thoroughly before leaving, though, he knows these are some kind of flowers, most likely roses. He finds some of what they call gravel here, which is snacks back home. Dan takes a chance and tastes one of them, but they don’t taste the same - more earthy here.

 

He’s so caught up in his own thoughts and internal rambling, he doesn’t realise he suddenly bumps into something.

“Sorry”, Dan says, not expecting a response. Why is he even saying anything when he knows he’s supposed to be invisible for Earthlings? Nobody can see him, yet he tries to apologise for bumping into them.

“It’s all right”, the response comes and it makes him jump.

“Can- can you see me?”

“Duh”, he says - because Dan is sure it’s a he, that’s what the humans call them. Humans are a weird species, dividing their inhabitants into genders and having gender specific colours and clothes. He doesn’t understand it, because they don’t have that at home.

“Are you supposed to be invisible? Because I can pretend I didn’t see you even if I did.”

 

Dan studies him, as he considers his words. He’s tall, just like himself, only a few centimetres shorter, with a slim body and hair black as a raven. His eyes sparkle in blue, like the Earth’s sky or sea, and his arms have some weird looking leaves on them. In Dan’s eyes, he’s somewhat magical, glowing in a way he’s never seen anyone do before.

 

“You’re not- you can’t see me”, Dan finally manages to form a coherent sentence.

The human, or whatever being he is, Dan isn’t sure, cocks his head to the side. “Why not?”

“Because I’m”, Dan walks closer to him, his voice only a whisper, afraid that if this being can hear so can anyone else, “not from around here.”

“Cool! So where you from, then?” He asks, louder than before.

“God, you really can’t follow orders?”

“Nope, never!” He cheers proudly. “So”, he says, “where are you from?”

 

Dan studies him closely, his eyes sticking to the weird leaves on the sleeves of his sweater. They seem to be coming out from under the fabric, as if-

“Are you even human?” The words just blurt out before Dan can stop himself.

“I asked a question first.”

Dan sighs, rolling his eyes as he does. “I’m from“, trying to think of a city in a country on a planet he’s never been to before is hard, so he picks one of the few he’s learnt so far, “Manchester”.

 

“So am I! But we moved to London when I was just five, so I basically have no memory of it.”

Dan nods, his eyes still staring at the leaves on coming through the sweater. They’re swaying as if there’s a light breeze, but there isn’t any wind right now.

“You’re not human”, it’s not even a question this time, Dan just can’t find any other explanation for it.

“Well, if we’re gonna go down that road- neither are you.”

 

Dan freezes, a coldness spreading quickly through his body. He hadn’t said anything that could even remotely hint to that. It sends shivers down his spine that this one have figured it out himself.

“How do you know?” Dan asks, shocked.

“There’s something about you- you look normal, like human, but you kind of… sparkle? I don’t know if that makes sense.”

Dan smirks. “It does, because so do you.”

The boy looks just as shocked as Dan still feels. “Do I?”

“Yeah”, he snickers at the boy’s shocked expression.

 

—

 

They’d been talking for a while. It felt weird to Dan to connect that easily with someone that wasn’t from his own planet, his own species.

 

Turns out the boy’s name is Phil, but some people call him Plantboy because of the branches, vines and leaves that wraps around his body, underneath his clothes. He is indeed mostly human, and a he, a boy, but something happened while his mum was pregnant and he was born a bit different. His skin isn’t as pale as other people Dan have seen around during his short time here, Phil’s skin is more greenish or greyish depending on the lightning. Even if age counting is different on Earth, Dan comes to the conclusion that him and Phil are about the same age - about twenty years old.

 

Phil asks him a lot of questions, like so much it’s overwhelming. But he’s genuinely interested and not judging Dan at all when he finally decides to be honest and tell Phil about his home planet of Pluto. Dan explains that he’s only on Earth for a mission for about a year. Phil listens closely, nods politely and asks even more questions. Dan really likes this weird connection they have, the way they seem to understand each other even with Dan’s very bad Earthling language and weird accent that makes Phil laugh at times.

 

Turns out Phil is a gardener and he likes it, but it’s also not fully satisfying for him. It might be because there’s been a really bad drought this year and his plants have been sad, Dan figures, but there’s something else too. He can see it in Phil’s eyes, the way they sparkle but only to hide the sadness beneath and he hates it. Phil seems like the nicest guy, he doesn’t ever deserve to be sad or unhappy even for the shortest of seconds.

 

“What’s the matter?” He asks and Phil looks at him quizzically, one eyebrow raised.

Phil laughs once, a sad sound, and crosses his arms over his chest, “who said anything is wrong.”

 

Dan steps closer to him, gazing around the big leafy part of Phil’s garden where they’d been for a while now, looking at him with a tilted head and curious eyes. “I just- I can feel it, see it in your eyes, something is wrong. I’m right, am I not?” He adds when Phil’s twists uncomfortably in his stance, as if Dan really hit a sore spot there.

 

Phil sighs, frowning. “Yeah.”

“So what is it, then? And how can I help you?”

“You- I don’t think you can help me. What would you even do? Spread some stardust here and there and- hocus pocus?” Phil makes some funny hand gestures that makes Dan the loudest and fondest of laughs.

“Actually”, Dan smirks. “I do think I can help and it does involve some stardust.”

Phil’s jaw drops, “really?” and it causes Dan to laugh again, a soft sound.

“Yeah, _really_ ”, he imitates Phil’s voice and it earns him a gentle push in the chest, “but explain to me, though”, Dan continues, “what makes you so sad?”

Phil sighs, that frown Dan have already seen once, and hated, present once again, “I love Earth, everything about it is rather fantastic and at times even spectacular”, he says and sighs again. Phil starts turning around and slowly walking away.

“But?” Dan says, catching up with him, hand brushing against Phil’s as he does.

 

Phil sits down on one of the benches at the further end of the garden, looking out across it as he speaks slowly. “I feel like- this isn’t where I belong, but at the same time I know it’s exactly where I want to be. Most times I just feels so unfulfilled, and I really don’t know what to do.”

 

Phil looks so miserable, elbows steadily placed on his thighs, chin in his hands. His gaze locked on things further away, but at the same time it’s as he’s not really looking. Now it’s Dan’s turn to frown, but at the back of his mind a plan starts to form.

 

—

 

Dan could’ve never imagined Earth would actually bring him anything good. He’d thought the whole experience and journey would be lame and boring. Never could he have imagined he’d meet someone as special and amazing as Phil, someone he would connect so easily with. And never in his life have he felt this fulfilled or happy - or even on cloud nine at times. Even better, is that he can feel how Phil’s mood have changed as well. He seems at least a bit happier than he did when they met a little over a month ago, and that makes Dan filled with so much joy.

 

“So”, Phil says, walking up to him one afternoon in the garden, “on your mission, are you supposed to like- go different places or is this, like, it?”

 

Phil stops right next to Dan, where he’s on his knees picking out weeds from the soil between some bushes. Phil had said he didn’t need help, but Dan had insisted he’d help out for as long as he was there. What Phil didn’t know is that Dan had worked his magic on some plants too. He had made them more resistant to drought as well as too much rain, he gave them life again, made them happy.

 

“I suppose. But I like it here, it’s nice and calm and I have company”, Dan nods towards him and it makes Phil smile, his cheeks slightly pink as they seem to get a lot this past week.

Phil drops down next to him, legs crossed and his knee pressing against Dan’s thigh. “Yeah, I am too but.. don’t you need to like, work or something?”

Dan brushes off some dirt on his jeans, his hand on his thigh, very close to Phil’s knee. He resists the urge to touch him, even if it’s hard. “What if”, Dan starts, meeting Phil’s curious blue gaze, “you come along?”

 

Phil blinks multiple times. “Really?”

“Yeah, of course”, Dan says as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Phil chuckles for himself, and says, “the adventures of Plantboy and Spaceboy”, his hands curved into brackets, moving in the air as if he’s creating a banner.

Dan laughs, shaking his head as he shoves Phil’s knee, “I guess you can call it whatever you want.”

“You don’t like it?”

“Of course I like it!” _I like everything about you_ , he thinks but the words never leave his tongue.

 

—

 

Despite Dan having been in London for almost four months already, he hadn’t seen much of it because he wanted to spend every waking hour with Phil in his gigantic garden.

So when Phil one day said, “you wanna go into the city?” Dan had just nodded excitedly and follows him to the bus stop.

 

He didn’t need to, there really was no reason for it, but for the first time he leaned into Phil in public. He had done it many times in Phil’s garden, when they had been watching some weird human television show, or when they had been cooking some typical human meal.

 

But his hand on Phil’s thigh now - he have never done anything like that when among other people. It’s so casual, it’s natural for the both of them by now. When Dan looks at him all he gets back is a huge grin, followed by a hand on top of his. He has no idea what this tingly feeling in his body is, or why his heart flutters every time he touches Phil, but he likes it - he likes it a lot. From what he can gather, Phil likes this too - at least he doesn’t flinch away, he rather moves closer than anything else.

 

They walk around in the city for a while. London is big, bigger than Dan would’ve ever imagined. There’s so much to see, almost too much, but he’s glad he has company who knows somewhat where they’re going. Phil walks close to him all the time, their fingers loosely touching for a few seconds at a time. An impulse inside him is twitching to grab Phil’s hand, but he refrains.

 

Phil shows him the most touristy things, and some hidden spots that he seems to enjoy a lot himself. Dan finds it hard to not let his jaw drop open all the time, everything is so cool.

“It’s- different, but a good different”, Dan says, looking up at the Big Ben.

Phil grabs his hand. He doesn’t intertwine their fingers, but the touch alone is enough to make Dan’s body shiver a bit. “You like it?”

“Mhm”, is the only sound he can make, his brain fully focused on how their hands feels pressed together.

 

—

 

They travelled to Stockholm, then Paris and finally all the way to Sydney - they spent a few days in each of the cities. Mostly it was to gather things for Dan to bring back to Pluto, but also generally touristing. Phil said he haven’t really travelled that much, so they took this opportunity to explore the places as well. All three cities were beautiful, had amazing architecture and exciting as well as interesting things to see.

 

The nights were always spent at their hotel room, getting to know each other or watching some movie Phil picked out. They’d grown so close, sharing a bed wasn’t a problem anymore - they loved that, rather than separate beds. Dan thought it was nice to have someone to cuddle up next to when he needed some more warmth. Judging by the way Phil had cuddled closer too, it’s definitely mutual.

 

—

 

One night, about a month later in their hotel room in Beijing, with Phil’s head in his lap as they lazily watch TV, Dan says, “I haven’t been quite honest with you.”

 

Phil looks up at him, blue eyes sparkling in the only light coming from the TV screen. His eyebrows furrows and Dan realises it’s because he stopped playing with his hair. When he continues again, Phil’s expression softens a bit. There’s still a wrinkle of concern between his eyes when he asks, “what do you mean?”

 

Dan twirls a curl of Phil’s hair around his finger. He strokes a leaf on a vine that pokes up from underneath Phil’s head. “It’s nothing really serious I just- the way I look right now isn’t exactly how I really look.”

“So that’s nothing serious?” Phil says, one eyebrow raised and arms crossed over his chest now.

Dan says, sincerity colouring his voice, “I don’t think it is.”

“But I do think it is serious.”

 

Silence. And Dan hates it. This is the first time in the few months they’ve known each other it’s ever been this silent. The tension is the worst, though. The fact that none of them says anything, afraid to make it worse - or maybe this is just how it’s supposed to be? He may just not know that, because Phil and him have been talking non-stop for months, he figures. His fingers just keeps brushing through Phil’s hair, playing with it and brushing it in all directions.

 

Phil finally breaks the excruciating silence. “So what do you look like, then?”

Dan doesn’t expect him to actually ask that, but he figures honesty is a good thing. “I can show you.”

“Please do.”

He asks Phil to sit up next to him, which he gladly does, looking excited and kinda hopeful. Dan turns to face him even more, taking a few deep breaths. “Okay”, he says, exhaling sharply.

 

It’s hard for him to take down the guard protecting his real looks. Not only physically, but mostly mentally - he doesn’t do it often, actually he’s only done it once before with someone at home. Dan inhales slowly, trying to relax and let go of himself. He tries to tell himself it’s okay, Phil won’t judge, he can trust Phil with his life, with his secrets.

 

Another deep breath and he can feel himself slowly changing, millimeter by millimeter. His skin starts changing, revealing the ugly truth that’s underneath. Dan keeps his eyes shut, afraid of what Phil’s face might look like when he’s done changing. All he can hear is a gasp. What’s that supposed to mean? Is it good? Bad? Is he already halfway to the door?

 

“Woah”, the word doesn’t sound too bad, but yet Dan doesn’t know what to make of that one word. “You’re-”, Phil continues, but that doesn’t tell Dan anything either. A hand on his cheek, stroking slowly, careful as if he’s afraid Dan might break.

 

Dan opens his eyes, to see Phil looking at him. His gaze isn’t judging, it’s more amazed than anything else, and he likes the way Phil is looking at him right now. How his eyes are so soft and there’s a hint of a smile on his lips, and his hand gently on Dan’s cheek. “I’m?” he questions and Phil shakes his head to get out of the stupor he’s in.

 

“You’re so _cool_!” he exclaims with a short laugh. “You know who you look like?” he says, but cuts in again before Dan gets to say anything, “well, obviously not but- you look like Deadpool.”

“Dead-what?” Dan furrows his brows and cocks his head to the side.

Phil laughs. “Deadpool. He’s this really funny superhero that wears a red costume to cover up his body - and he looks exactly like you underneath it.”

“Is that- _bad_?”

“No, no! I think it’s really cool, actually”, Phil smiles, moving a bit closer to Dan, only to caress his face with both his hands.

 

He has no idea how long they sit like that, but it must be hours even if it feels like much longer. Eventually Phil ends up embracing all of him, holding him close as he whispers some sweet words into Dan’s ear. Dan doesn’t really know what all the words means, but he likes the way it sounds - like a soft, calming breeze on a late summer night.

 

“Thank you”, Phil finally says, one of his hands moving up and down Dan’s back in a slow but steady rhythm.

Dan nuzzles his nose against Phil’s shoulder, squeezing his arms around his body. “What for?” his voice sounds particularly drowsy.

Phil pulls away, but not too far, his nose almost touching Dan’s. “For being honest. For showing me your true self.”

 

Dan smiles, an urge to lean in and close the distance between them more present now than ever before. They’re so close and that’s all he can really think about. “No problem. You’ve been so honest with your true self, you deserve to know me.” Dan glances down on the leaves sticking out of Phil’s sweater. Sometimes he hides them, when they’re in public or when he feels particularly vulnerable for the day, and Dan knows how hard that must be.

 

“Yeah, I guess”, Phil sounds a bit distant, “does everyone on Pluto look like this?” he asks.

“No, something happened when I was born. They’ve never found out what, but the magic powers I have comes with the looks apparently.”

Phil blinks a few times. “The mag- another secret, huh?”

“Sorry”, Dan says biting his tongue, a stroke of guilt running through his body, “yeah, uh, I have healing powers.”

 

Phil’s eyebrows shoot up, expression something like mistrust, as he leans back to cross his arms in front of himself. “Really? So that’s why my garden was doing exceptionally well before we left?”

Dan blushes, both guilty and a tad embarrassed, “maybe so”, he smiles.

Phil snorts a laugh, throwing his arms around Dan again. “Thought so”, he snickers.

 

—

 

He and Phil had really become close. Like, really, really close. They could barely keep their hands off of each other even for a second most times. It wouldn’t even be knowingly, just the brush of the back of their hands in passing or long and soft hugs or cuddling late at night in a hotel sofa. It’s always friendly, there’s never any malicious intents in Phil even if he’d try.

 

That one night in Los Angeles, after having a nice but very late dinner out, felt so special from start to finish. There was something extra about Phil that night as well, almost as if he’d planned the whole thing. After all, he had been the one to book them a table at a pretty fancy looking restaurant. Phil had just abruptly stopped under a streetlight, a nervous smile playing on his lips as he stepped in front of Dan, he’d blurted out a soft, “hi”.

 

Dan laughed fondly at how stupid this all was - just like one of those romantic movies they had watched one night while in Stockholm. This was exactly like one of those scenes; the boy walking the girl home after a late night date, both of them nervous and the obvious pre-kiss tension in the air. It makes Dan’s whole body bubble, kind of like a fizzy drink.

 

Phil doesn’t wait for an answer, he just leans in to let his lips meet Dan’s. It startles Dan, makes him lose his balance a bit and he almost falls backwards - lest it was for Phil catching him, arm around his waist. His lips are so soft against Dan’s own, a bit sticky maybe, but he finds that kind of attractive for some reason. Dan’s nose brushes against Phil’s when he tilts his head, his lips catching Phil’s bottom lip. There’s a swirling feeling in his stomach as he throws his arms around Phil’s neck to pull him in even closer. His breath tastes sweet and warm, a bit chocolatey from the pudding they had just an hour earlier. Dan likes this, he likes this a whole damn lot.

 

—

 

They’d gone across North America, to Chicago and now New York, picking up things along the way that could be useful for Dan to bring back home. It had been some rare flowers, odd dirt, weird gravel and wonky sticks. He’d collected samples of hair from different animals that Dan had carefully cut from them while Phil kept a lookout for people and told him more about what each animal is. It’s interesting, the way Phil loves animals and the way he knows so much about every single one of them - it’s very admirable.

 

—

 

After all the adventures and new discoveries it was rather nice to go back to London. Having all necessities in one place, and not needing to move almost every week, is of course more convenient. But Dan also knows what this means, even if Phil probably doesn’t realise it. He’s been on Earth for almost a year now, which means it’s time for him to leave. Reminding Phil of that isn’t going to be easy, but it feels like he also has a plan.

 

His plan all along was to make Phil happy, which somehow ended up being a trip around the world and many long nights, shared beds, that ended up in cuddling, hugs and and kisses - well, eventually love, right? He never intended the blooming friendship with Phil to develop into anything at all. Fuck, he never intended to start even a friendship with anyone on another planet. But now he has started something deeper than that and he’s not sure what to do with it.

 

It’s been a few days since they got back and they’ve spent majority of that time cuddled up in Phil’s bed. Dan chest is pressed against Phil’s side, arms around his body, legs wrapped around Phil’s - Phil’s hand a constant comb through Dan’s hair. It’s just so nice and Dan doesn’t wanna ruin the cosiness of this moment, but he realises he has to bring it up sometime and no moment is never the perfect one.

 

“You know”, he says, voice drowsy and weak, “it’s almost time for me to-”, he can’t finish the sentence, but he thinks Phil is smart enough to get the point.

Phil’s hand stops, but only to pull Dan closer, wrapping him up just so he can nuzzle his nose in Dan’s hair. “Yeah, I know. I know…” he says, voice fading at the last two words.

“I don’t wanna go, though.”

“Then just- _don’t_. You know? I don’t mind. Actually, this is the happiest I’ve been in many years.” Phil kisses the top of his curls, inhaling slowly as he does.

“I’ll see what I can do”, Dan says, promising himself to do everything he can to stay.

 

And he does stay.

**Author's Note:**

> you can follow me on [tumblr](http://frankenphan.tumblr.com/) :') if you wanna reblog the fic, you can do so [here](http://frankenphan.tumblr.com/post/178787727360/look-at-the-stars-look-how-they-shine-for-you)


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